“You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is, forty-nine years. Then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, on Yom-Kippur, you are to sound a blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land.“-Leviticus 25:8-9
The opening verses of Leviticus chapter 25 were to establish the Sabbath year principle.
In other words, every seventh year was to be a complete rest for the land.
The standard Bible term used to explain the time frame for the Jubilee is “7 Sabbaths of years” or “7 weeks of years” meaning 7 x 7=49 years.
After this, the Jubilee Year which is the 50th year is to begin.
Now notice that the start of this special 50th year is YOM KIPPUR (Day of Atonement).
This is the 10th day of TISHRI which according to the religious calendar would be the 7th month of the year.
This might seem a bit strange because it appears that the beginning of the 50th year is being delayed by 10 days.
In terms of our modern calendar, it would be like saying we’re going to count the start of the 50th year from January 10th.
The 1st day of TISHRI is the Jewish New Year or ROSH HASHANAH.
But since the Hebrew word for “Jubilee” is YOVEL and since YOVEL means “Ram’s horn” and since the “Ram’s horn” is identified with YOM KIPPUR, then it is reasoned that the Year of Jubilee begins on the 10th day of the month TISHRI, which as we all know is YOM KIPPUR.
Honestly, not all Jews agree with this but that is the reasoning behind why the Year of Jubilee begins when it does.
On what day does the Jubilee year end? In other words, when is the last day on which one could legally reclaim/redeem their property?
it would be Rosh hashanah 50 years later
Since 50 years can be longer than some of the Israeli’s life span, it seems possible that many actually would not have kept track of the beginning of Yovel (and especially since they very soon would stop really obeying the Lord’s commandments).
Is it possible that the shofar is sounded in Tishri to proclaim that the Yovel will start the next beginning of the year in the 1st month? It actually doesn’t seem likely that everyone would be on board with the right year and even be prepared to give up their land/houses on such short notice. Has anyone, say some sages, considered that?
Great question! You’re right to wonder how people in ancient Israel would’ve kept track of something that only happened every 50 years—especially if some didn’t live that long or stopped paying attention to God’s commands.
According to the Torah (Leviticus 25), every 50th year was called the Year of Jubilee (Hebrew: Yovel). It was a special year when slaves were set free, land went back to its original owners, and the people were supposed to rest and reset. But here’s something interesting: even though the Jubilee year officially began on the 1st day of the 7th month (called Tishri), the actual freedom events didn’t start until the 10th day of that month, which is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.
On that day, they blew a ram’s horn (shofar) all across the land to announce that the Jubilee had begun.
So why the 10-day delay?
Jewish tradition says the year still technically started on the 1st of Tishri, but the big changes—like releasing slaves and returning land—kicked in after the shofar blast on Yom Kippur. That gave everyone a clear public signal and a little time to prepare.
As for the idea that the shofar blast in Tishri was just a warning for something starting later—say, in the first month of the religious year (called Nisan)—there’s no record of that in Jewish writings. The Bible and the rabbis all agree: the Jubilee starts in Tishri, and the shofar on Yom Kippur is what makes it official.
And yes, people probably did lose track at times. That’s why the shofar blast was so important—it helped reset the nation and made sure everyone knew what time it was.
Hope that helps!
Because the 1st day of Tishri commemorates the1st day of fiat creation and is God’s Tishri-1 creation calendar. BUT the 10th-day of creation on Tishri-10 is when Adam and Eve FELL and is commemorated as the 1st ever Day of Atonement being clothed by God, with animal skins. The creation and the Yovel calendars begin from the very 1st day and 10th day of the1st ever year and month of creation.